While languishing in bed with Covid, the only thing I could manage was sleep and watching YouTube. I found this amazing series on animals relating to witchcraft and folklore. The video was a mixture of film with scientific facts about the wildlife and animations to illustrate the folklore stories. I was totally inspired by this blend of narrative and science. During the summer I had been researching pollinators and learning about butterflies and moths in particular. So spurred on by this creepy series, I started looking into poisonous plants and the moths and their caterpillars that feed off them. While researching the plants, I read many myths and folktales, learning fascinating snippets of information about historical use through the centuries. Some were based on science, but many were very far fetched but equally intriguing!
I did many sketches of the plants and moths (see some of moth sketches above). I gathered notes on their uses and properties, in particular anything that sparked my imagination. All this in preparation of doing a series of watercolour paintings. Each plant I’ve depicted is extremely poisonous and can easily kill either by just touching it or by ingesting a tiny amount. All of them have been used in herbal medicine for centuries and most are still used today in modern herbal treatments.
Atropos
The first painting in the series is ‘Atropos’ – it depicts the plant Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna) a highly poisonous plant with dull purple flowers and glossy black berries. It is also known as Dwale “Death’s herb”, and Devil’s Cherries. One berry is enough to kill and yet it has been used as a medicine for centuries, especially to treat eye problems amongst other things. Spanish ladies of the 17th used it to dilate their pupils and thus make themselves more alluring hence “Bella Donna”.
It is the food source for the caterpillar of the Death’s Head Hawk Moth (Acherontia atropos). The moth has skull like markings on its thorax and that, along with the eery piping shriek it emits, has given it a fearsome reputation for being a harbinger of death and doom. The Latin name is after Atropos one of the Three Fates of Greek mythology. Along with her sisters Clotho (The Spinner) and Lachesis (The Measurer), Atropos controlled the lives and fates of all living beings. Atropos was the one who cut the thread of life with her cosmic shears.
Atropa belladonna holds the potent magic of life and death separated by a mere thread. One gram too many and the patient would make the transition to the afterlife. It fascinates me that the caterpillars of these moths are able to eat this plant with impunity.
A print of this painting was chosen for the Winter Open Exhibition at The Heart of the Tribe Gallery in Glastonbury.
Open edition unframed giclee prints are available in the shop.
Have a look at the next painting in the series – The Queen of Poisons – Monkshood.
